It was a smashing afternoon at Jerez. Not only were lap records pulverised, but also preconceptions … as the two satellite Yamaha rider (one of them a rookie) seized control of the front row of MotoGP, consigning even Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda to third.
Top of the times went to Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, in only his fourth outing on the Petronas M1 Yamaha – last year’s bike, for the most junior of four Yamaha riders. Aged 20 years and 14 days old.
Slotting in to second was team-mate Franco Morbidelli, less than a tenth down, on a resurfaced track where the top 12 of Q2 were all within seven tenths of a second, and all inside the previous best lap of the 4.423km circuit.
Marquez might have changed the order, after taking a two-stop strategy in the 15-minute session – but a big slide and yet another trade-mark great save spoiled his final run, on a front tyre that was now past its best.
While the new boys celebrated, two veterans were down in the mouth. Jorge Lorenzo’s strong start to the weekend came to naught when he slipped off the Repsol Honda, qualifying only 11th on row four. Worse still, Valentino Rossi (Monster Yamaha) didn’t make it to Q2, and will start from 13th, heading row five. He was knocked out of the important second place in the Q1 session by his own protégé Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati).
It was Quartararo’s fourth career pole, his first also coming at Jerez, after he was admitted under-age to Moto3 after winning the CEV Junior championship twice. “This is the big one,” he said.
After a blazing Friday, conditions were still dry, but cloudy and cooler. This also favoured the factory Yamahas, which have trouble on a hot track. Rossi’s team-mate Maverick Vinales did make it through to Q2, and qualified fifth, starting from row two, in between Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) and last year’s pole man Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) in sixth.
Crutchlow crashed heavily in the morning, bringing out red flags after he punctured the air fence. Free practice leader Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Ducati), the first rider to circulate below 1m 37s, fell at the end of Q2, and placed seventh. He leads row three from Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) and CotA winner Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki). Bagnaia was tenth, ahead of the luckless Lorenzo (celebrating his 32 birthday) and Joan Mir (Ecstar Suzuki).
Jack Miller (Pramac Ducati) was out of the top five for the first time year, placed 15th after slipping off at the end of Q1; wild card Stefan Bradl (HRC Honda( was 14th.
Moto2
Speed-Up rider Jorge Navarro put himself in the perfect position to deny Kalex a 100th victory when he claimed his first-ever pole in the middle class by one hundredth of a second.
The second rider on the Italian-made chassis, class rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio, placed a strong seventh, fewer than three tenths down.
In between, a phalanx of Kalex-mounted hopefuls were all up close, with all 18 of the Q2 riders inside under eight tenths.
Alex Marquez (EG-VDS Kalex) had Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP40 Kalex) alongside. Australian Remy Gardner (ONEXOX Kalex) leads row two from Nicolo Bulega (SKY VR46 Kalex) and points leader Lorenzo Baldassarri (Flexbox HP40 Kalex).
CotA winner Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Kales is in between Di Giannantonio and Tetsuta Nagashima (ONEXOXO Kalex) on row three.
Only then the first of the KTMs, the official Red Bull bike ridden by Brad Binder, who had to come through from Q1.
Sam Lowes (Federal Oils Kalex) was 11th and Xavi Vierge (EG VDS Kalex 12th; with Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Kalex) dropped to 13th after earlier leading the session.
Also with a big job tomorrow: Marcel Schrotter (Dynavolt Kalex), starting from 14th, in the middle of row five.
American Joe Roberts qualified 27th.
Moto3
Only in Moto3 did the old (2017) record remain inviolate, by less than a hundredth; with a dozen riders inside a second of Lorenzo Dalla Porta’s career-first pole. The Leopard Honda rider, second in the opening round, was just four thousandths ahead of SIC58 Honda rider Tatsuki Suzuki, with close to two tenths then to third-fastest Celestino Vietti (SKY VR46 KTM).
Both Suzuki and Vietti were through from Q1.
Friday leader Niccolo Antonelli, Suzuki’s team-mate, lost his bid for pole with a late moment at the final corner, but will lead row two from Dennis Foggia (SKY VR46 KTM) and new Honda rider Gabriel Rodrigo (Kommerling Gresini),
A late crash denied CotA winner Aron Canet (Sterilgarda KTM) any hopes of improving, and he qualified seventh; Albert Arenas (Samar Nieto KTM) made an impressive return after missing two races with serious internal injuries from a training accident, placed ninth alongside Marcos Ramirez’s Leopard Honda.
By Michael Scott
Photos GnG
